Illuminati - The Core

These guys really had me fooled.  I was absolutely convinced that this was an Atheist side project, and to those of us that have been waiting persistently for the follow-up to Jupiter, The Core is the next best thing.  Of course, the Atheist comparisons make more sense when you read that Kelly Shaefer and Tony Choy guest on the album.  In fact, the guest spots on here are a literal "who's who?" of Prog Death with: Patrick Mameli (Pestilence), Luc Lemay (Gorguts), and Tymon Kruidenier (Cynic) all making noticeable appearances.  What prevents me from totally soiling myself with excitement are the "conceptual" spoken word tracks between each song (which leave only 22 mins of actual musical material).  Even if I understood Romanian I would still think they were just worthless fillers.  Even so The Core is still a tremendously promising effort.  Next time though, can you give us a full album please?

the choy of shredding

Coins as Portraits - Form and Structure, Storm and Fracture

If you're still awake after reading that title, you will get to enjoy the over-the-top mathiness this album offers.  Discordant as all hell, but thankfully has a smooth production to take some of that edge off.  The vocal and riffing styles are what you would expect from Progressive Grind, but it's the drumming that stands out the most here.  This guy's kit must be huge, 'cause I'm hearing all sorts of weird percussion sounds; from cowbells to what sounds like a xylophone?  Needless to say, the beats are also super dynamic and complex.  With all the controlled noise that's going on, it's definitely not "memorable" in a "catchy" way at all, but it does bring a few new twists to the table.  Definitely worth a listen if you like your music to fuck with you a little bit (or a lot bit).

 

the curator's bush

fat camp